Every week, new home buyers across Queensland sign their handover certificates, collect their keys, and move into homes that have not been independently inspected. Many do it believing their builder's quality control is sufficient. Some are told by their builder that an independent inspection isn't necessary. Some simply don't know it's an option.
Here is exactly what that decision can cost.
The Builder's Quality Control Is Not Independent
Every volume builder operates an internal quality control process. Site supervisors sign off on each stage. Internal checklists are completed. The building certifier inspects at mandatory hold points.
None of these are independent. The site supervisor works for the builder. The certifier is engaged by the builder and performs a compliance check — confirming that required elements are present — not a quality inspection.
An independent inspector works for you and has no commercial relationship with your builder. When defects are found, your inspector documents them and you decide what to do with that information. When the builder's site supervisor finds defects, the builder decides what to do with that information.
What Remains Hidden Without an Inspection
The most costly defects found on new builds are not visible to an untrained eye during a buyer walk-through. Non-compliant waterproofing — a membrane applied to 1400mm instead of the required 1800mm — looks identical to a compliant installation. The difference only becomes apparent when moisture penetrates a grout joint two years later and begins damaging the substrate behind the tiles.
Frame defects — missing bracing, undersized tiedown hardware, over-notched timber members — are invisible once plasterboard is installed. Their consequences appear as structural movement, cracking, and door misalignment years later.
What the Average New Home Has at PCI Stage
VG Inspect finds an average of 15 to 30 defects per new home PCI across SEQ. The distribution includes minor cosmetic items — paint defects, grout inconsistency — and major compliance defects including waterproofing non-compliance, drainage falls, roof fixing deficiencies, and missing contract items.
Presented with a documented inspection report, builders rectify the vast majority of defects before handover. The same defects discovered after the buyer has signed and settled typically take months of correspondence, QBCC involvement, and legal pressure to rectify — at significant cost to the buyer in time, stress, and legal fees.
Ready to book your inspection? A VG Inspect QBCC-licensed inspector attends every job.
Book an InspectionThe Decision Is Simple
An independent PCI inspection from VG Inspect costs from $660 including GST and report. The average cost of waterproofing rectification after tiling is $5,000 to $15,000. The average cost of structural defect rectification is higher.
Book before you collect the keys. QBCC licence 1318443.
